Kingdom Hearts: Path of Twilight
by knightofdestiny
Summary: A new key bearer; a clouded past; a strange group. What challenges will Noah face on his journey, and will he still be himself at the end of it? R&R please!
1. Prologue

_Prologue: Meeting of Shadows_

Lightning streaked across the sky, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of thunder, as rain fell on a field that seemed to stretch on for miles. The only structure around was a large, black castle that looked as if it didn't belong. Lightning flashed in the dark sky again, illuminating the field below. A lone figure wearing a dark cloak slipped into the castle, moving swiftly. The figure descended a spiraling staircase that was in the entrance hall and headed into the castle's depths. At the bottom of the staircase was a door with a strange insignia on it. The figure stood in front of the door and placed a hand on the insignia. It began to glow with a dark aura, then there was an unlocking sound and the door slowly opened. The figure strode into the room, where there were six others sitting around a circular table. They each wore a dark cloak like the mysterious figure. One of the six at the table spoke to the figure.

"I see you've decided to show up." The figure took a seat in the only empty chair at the table and removed the hood of the cloak, revealing a green-haired girl who looked no older than sixteen.

"Yes, I'm here. I suppose you assumed I wasn't coming, right? Well, here I am. Why don't you continue with the conversation."

"We've yet to begin," said the man who had spoken first. "Everyone is to hear this. Master, shall we begin?" The person sitting at the far end of the table nodded, apparently the one who led the group. The man had opened his mouth to continue speaking, but another man spoke first.

"Organization XIII is no more. Sora believes that peace has finally returned to his life. Now is the perfect time for us to strike."

"Yes, we must acquire the Keyblade if we want to change our fates," said another, a woman this time. "I don't know about you, but I am sick of living here!" Yet another figure spoke, a third man.

"Things have gotten far out of hand. We must not allow ourselves to be defeated by that witch." 

"We have to be careful. We don't want to act prematurely, lest we find ourselves meeting the same end as those foolish Organization members," said a fourth man. The green-haired girl gazed at everyone, a smug look all over her face. 

"I told you to let me fight her. If I had, this wouldn't have happened." One of the others opened their mouth to respond, but was silenced by the man sitting to the left of the leader.

"Please, this is no time for squabbling. As we speak, Sora is on his way to see that fool of a king. We must make our move now!" The others made sounds of approval at this statement.

"Very soon, all of this shall end and our lives shall return to normal," said the woman. "We can let nothing stand in our way, not even the chosen wielder of the Keyblade!" The group's leader stood up and left the room, not having uttered a single word.

"Master?" said one of the group.

"The master has other business to attend to. We shall handle this ourselves," said the man who had sat on the leader's left. He was on his feet now. "Let us be off." The man instantly vanished, along with four of the others. Only the green-haired girl remained. She stood up slowly, a sinister smile on her face.

"You'd better prepare yourself, Sora. We're coming for you."


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter One: The Hero Sleeps Again_

"So how much farther do we have to go, Sora?" Kairi asked.

"We're almost there. I think you'll enjoy meeting Queen Minnie. I bet you two will end up being best friends," Sora said.

"I still don't see why you had to come, Kairi. If this has anything to do with Maleficent, things might get dangerous," Riku said.

"Please, don't start with me, Riku. I'm not interested in hearing you complain again," Kairi snapped. "You two have left me on the island twice already. I wasn't going to let you guys leave me again."

Riku and Sora laughed, prompting Kairi to lightly smack them both. The trio was on their way to Disney Castle to see King Mickey after receiving a message from him telling them to come see him. They were flying in a new gummi ship that Sora and Riku had built with some spare gummies that Sora had saved from his last journey. It was christened Kingdom II after the gummi ship used by Donald and Goofy. The three were getting closer to Disney Castle, when a laser blast came out of nowhere and hit the gummi ship, rattling the three.

"What the heck was that?" Riku exclaimed.

"Not sure, but it was strong," Sora said. As he spoke, the ship was struck by another blast. Riku looked out of the window and scanned the area. After a minute, he spotted four strange ships heading toward them.

"Sora, are those some kind of new Heartless ships I don't know about?" Riku asked, with a worried tone in his voice.

"If they are, I haven't seen them before." Kairi screamed as the ships continued to fire on them, rocking the ship with dangerous force.

"Sora, fire back!" Riku yelled. Sora locked on to one of the enemy ships with the gummi ship's laser and fired. The laser found it's target and blew it up, but the other three fired again, this time setting of an alarm inside the cockpit.

"What now?" Sora asked aloud.

"I think we took a little too much damage, Sora," Riku said. "We oughta land."

"Where?"

The choice was apparently made by the gummi ship as Sora lost control and the ship went crashing down onto a nearby world. Sora, Riku, and Kairi strapped themselves into their seats and held on to them until the gummi ship finally came to a stop.

"Are we—are we still alive?" Kairi asked, unbuckling herself.

"I'm pretty sure we are," Sora said, he and Riku doing the same. The three climbed out of the beaten and battered gummi ship, taking a look around as they did so.

"Where are we?" Riku asked. Before Sora could answer, six cloaked figures appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.

"Uh-oh, looks like we've already found some new friends," Sora said. "Kairi, get back inside!"

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," she said. As Kairi stepped back inside the gummi ship, Sora and Riku summoned their weapons.

"Ah, the legendary Keyblade," one of the figures said, eying the key-shaped sword in Sora's hands. "It truly is magnificent. Now, hand it over!" At this, Sora simply chuckled.

"Sorry, but you won't be getting this thing, and there's no point in wasting my time trying to prove it to you. You might as well go on and leave." The six had their chance to chuckle this time.

"Are you quite sure about that assumption of yours, Sora?" another figure asked. "I believe defeating you will be an easy task. How about we show you?"

Each of the six materialized their own swords, and lunged at Sora. Not even looking remotely scared, Sora raised his Keyblade to the sky and yelled, "Thundaga!" Bolts of lightning struck the ground, hitting all of the cloaked fighters and stopping them in their tracks. Taking advantage of this, Riku charged at one of them, gripping his blade, Way to the Dawn, tightly in his hands. He swung it with considerable force, but his attack was unexpectedly blocked by another of the six.

"Don't needlessly throw your life away, Riku. There's no reason for you to die here," said a female voice. She kicked Riku in the chest, sending him flying a few feet backward.

"Riku!" Sora screamed, jumping toward the female figure, only to be swatted out of the air by another foe. Sora managed to land on his feet, aim the Keyblade at his assailant, and launch a Blizzaga spell at him. The spell nailed it's target and partially froze him, but two of the others leaped out at Sora, swinging their swords. Sora narrowly dodged the attacks and retaliated, but his strike missed. The two attackers tried their dual attack again, but Sora jumped high into the air to avoid it, then cast another Thundaga spell. The six dodged the bolts of lightning this time, and one counter-attacked with a weird flash of light that blinded Sora. The next thing he knew, he was being kicked out of the air and into the wall of a nearby building. Riku, who was back on his feet, tapped into the remnants of dark power within him and used his Dark Firaga attack on Sora's attacker. The large fireball was pelted out of the air like it was a balloon. Riku knew that his dark powers had been slowly draining away since the final battle with Xemnas, but he hadn't expected his attack to be so weak.

"This isn't good," Sora told Riku. The two moved over to the door of the gummi ship, preparing to make a last stand, when a strange white light engulfed everyone.

"What is this?" one of the figures yelled. As if to answer his question, a new figure, clad in all white, appeared out of nowhere.

"You shadows have no business here, begone!" the newcomer said, with surprising force. None of the dark figures moved an inch. One decided to speak, clearly trying to instill fear into the mysterious man in white.

"Listen to me, you fool. You are in the presence of six of the Seven Swords of the Shade. Our power is greater than you can imagine. Don't interfere!"

The man in white seemingly pulled out a lance from inside of his cloak and looked as if he was going to attack."Sora, tell Kairi to get out here, now," he said.

Sora stood motionless for a second, surprised the man knew his name, then went inside the gummi ship and brought Kairi back out a second later. The strange man in white then spun his lance around over his head like a windmill, then yelled, "Hurricane!" A huge blast of wind was created by the spinning lance, which was then directed at the six fighters. The wind sent them flying backward a great distance. When the attack was completed, the man in white disappeared in a flash of light, along with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The battle was over.

"Where are we now?" Riku asked.

"This place looks...familiar," Sora responded. "I'm sure I've been here before." He looked around the room, which was completely empty, save for three strange looking pods that Sora was sure he had seen before.

"Yes Sora, you have been here before. We are in the basement of the old mansion in Twilight Town," said a voice. "I thought this would be a good place to stay for a while." The man in white appeared from behind one of the pods.

"Who are you?" Sora asked. The man eyed him quietly before answering.

"You may call me Lucien." Riku looked at him with great intensity, wondering if all of this was some elaborate trap.

"What do you want with us?" Kairi asked, wondering the same thing. Lucien stared at the floor, searching his mind for the right words.

"It's a long story, but the point of it all is that I need you three to help me, and you won't be able to do that if you're all dead."

"What do you need us to do?" Sora asked.

"Now isn't the time to worry about that," Lucien answered. "For now, I just want you three to sleep." Lucien pointed to the strange pods. Sora immediately remembered the first time he had been in the mansion.

"Wait, why do we have to go to sleep? I've already been through that once!" Sora exclaimed.

"Simply put, you don't need to be around for the events that will soon be taking place," Lucien said. Sora gave him a questioning look, wondering what Lucien meant. Before he could open his mouth, Riku asked for him.

"What's going to happen?" Lucien was silent for a moment or two before answering.

"All you three need to know is that there is more going on around you than any of you realize. Let's leave it at that." Riku looked as if he was about to demand a better answer than that, but Sora saw this and stopped him.

"I think we can trust him. If we don't need to know, that's that." Sora hopped into one of the pods. Riku and Kairi, after hesitating for a second, followed suit.

"Thank you, Sora. I promise you that you will know everything very soon," Lucien said to Sora, before disappearing into thin air. With that, the pods closed up, and the three slowly drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two: Enter Noah_

The sound of clashing metal resonated all around a large, empty, gray room as two people faced each other in a fierce battle. One of the fighters, a young, black-haired boy wielding a dark, evil-looking blade, ran at the other, ready to deliver a fatal blow. His opponent, a mysterious warrior in white, stood his ground, loosely gripping his sword. Before the boy could reach the white warrior, there was bright flash of light. The boy thrust his sword blindly, hoping to hit something, but the light was painful. It was burning the boy, disintegrating his body. The light would destroy him...

"Hey, Noah! Wake up!" a voice called. There was a large crashing sound as a boy flopped out of bed and hit the floor.

"Ouch! Could've done without the fall," the boy said.

"Noah, are you up or what?" a voice from outside asked. Noah pulled himself up from off the floor and strode over to his window. He opened it and looked down, spotting a blond-haired boy standing below.

"I'll be down in a minute, Klein. Give me a few minutes." Noah shouted. Klein looked up and waved, then took a seat on a nearby bench. Noah closed the window and heaved himself across to his closet, pulling out some clean clothes and throwing them on. Next, he spent a few minutes in the bathroom tidying himself up, then headed downstairs, not forgetting to pick up his prized wooden sword. Outside, Klein was lying down on the bench, sleeping.

"Klein, get up. I didn't take that long," Noah said. Klein opened up one eye and laughed.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he said, getting up.

"Did you have a crazy dream too?"

"No, I just didn't get to sleep early enough 'cause I was out training. What were you dreaming about?" Noah shook his head.

"The same dream I've had for weeks. It's starting to creep me out."

"Don't sweat it, Noah. I'm sure the dream doesn't mean anything."

Noah didn't say anything, but looked like he was bothered by something. The two walked down the street in silence, the only sound coming from their moving feet. Noah looked around, admiring his island home. Noah lived on the northern island of a chain of four islands, known as the Twilight Islands. It was a place that was in a constant state of twilight, since it rested on the border of light and darkness. In a few minutes, they came to a dock where a small boat awaited them. They climbed onto the boat and sat down.

"Where you two headin'?" the boat's driver asked.

"West Island, please," Klein said. The driver started up the boat and was about to take off when, out of nowhere, someone dropped out of the sky and landed on the boat.

"Zidane, you gotta stop appearing out of nowhere," Noah said. Zidane grinned brightly, plopping down in a seat.

"Yeah, my bad. Just can't help myself. So, what's happening today?"

"Did you forget? Today's the day of the tournament!" Noah said.

"Wait, that's today? In that case, I hope you two are prepared to lose." Klein let out a derisive laugh.

"Right, like you could beat me," he said, still laughing. "Now Noah, on the other hand, is a pushover. He should be easy to win against."

"Shut up, Klein," Noah spat.

Within minutes, the trio arrived at West Island. A tournament was set to be held later in the day in order to determine who the best fighter in the Twilight Islands was. Noah, armed with his wooden sword, hoped to make easy work of the tournament and prove to his friend and rival, Reiche, that he was the best in the islands. Of course, Klein and Zidane didn't want to be left out of the running for strongest fighter, so they signed up for the tournament as well.

"We've got about two hours before the tournament begins. What should we do?" Klein asked, as he, Noah, and Zidane climbed out of the boat

.

"How 'bout we get something to eat? I'm starving," Zidane said.

"Didn't you have breakfast?" Noah asked Zidane. Zidane smiled toothily and jumped up into a nearby tree, deciding to hang off one of it's branches using his strangest feature, a tail almost like that of a monkey's.

"Yes, but I'm hungry again. Come on, let's go. I need food!" While Noah shook his hand disapprovingly, Klein eyed Zidane's tail with fascination.

"Y'know Zidane, I've known you for quite some time, but I still haven't gotten used to that tail of yours. What's the deal with it?"

"I already told you, it's the result of a serious growth spurt."

"I know you're lying. Growth spurts don't make tails grow. What are you hiding?"

"I don't have to tell you anything. It's my business."

Noah laughed to himself as Klein continued to pester Zidane, but as he wondered what Zidane was going to do, his attention was drawn to something behind the building to his right. While Klein and Zidane were distracted, Noah walked over to the backside of the building. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Noah and everything around him disappeared. In an instant, Noah found himself in a dark void, Klein and Zidane nowhere to be found. Noah cautiously scanned his surroundings. There was nothing to be seen, and Noah's heart began to beat faster. Unexpectedly, a figure appeared from out of the darkness. It wore a red and black coat that had a mysterious heart-shaped insignia on it. Noah didn't know why, but the symbol seemed familiar to him. The figure walked over to Noah and stopped right in front of him. Noah stared at the figure, but he couldn't see anything except eerie-looking crimson eyes, as a hood eclipsed the figure's face.

"Noah, how good to see you," the figure said, clearly a male.

"How do you know my name?" Noah asked, surprised. The man laughed.

"Have you truly forgotten everything? How sad."

"W-what do you want with me?"

"I only wish to help you regain what you lost. Hmm, I wonder if you've lost your fighting skill too. Here, take this."

The man conjured up a dark sword and held it out to Noah. Noah's body froze in place upon seeing the sword. It looked exactly like the sword he had used in his dream. Fear coursed through Noah's veins.

"Something wrong?" the man asked.

"Get away from me!" Noah exclaimed, jumping backward and away from the man. "Whoever you are, I don't need you to help me remember a thing!"

The man laughed again, harder this time.

"Tell me, do you have any idea who you really are? I don't think so. You may not know it right now, but you need me. Don't be a fool."

"If you think I'm going to trust you, then you need some psychological help. Nothing that comes out of the darkness is a good thing."

"My, my, how ironic. You, of all people, talking like you hate the darkness. You remind me of the key bearer, strangely. Look at how you clutch that wooden toy as if you were going to do something with it. How heroic."

Noah looked down at his right hand. It gripped his wooden sword tightly, though Noah had forgotten he was even carrying it.

"Who's the 'key bearer'?" he asked, forgetting about his sword.

"Oh yeah, of course you wouldn't remember, though I guess you don't really need to," the man said. "At the rate you're going, you'll end up being some goody-goody hero just like him."

"Hero, huh? Sounds good," Noah said.

"I see. On that note, I'll take my leave of you. Let me know when you've returned to normal."

The man receded into the darkness, and as he did so, the black void dissipated. Instantly, Noah found himself standing behind the building again.

"Noah! Noah, where the heck are you?" Klein yelled.

"Over here," Noah said, stepping out from behind the building.

"Hey man, where'd you go?" Zidane asked."One minute you were here, then you were gone, like you had just disappeared."

"I'm not really sure, but I think I could use a little something to eat myself now," Noah said, chuckling.

"Oh yeah, now you're talking! Let's go, to the food!" Zidane exclaimed, running off.

"Hey, wait up," Klein called, running after him. Noah took off running too, but he wasn't thinking about food. His mind was focused on what had just occurred. Someone he didn't know seemed to have a connection to his past, and it was scary.


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three: The Key Received_

Noah stood against the wall of the item shop, finishing up the last bit of his breakfast, while Zidane and Klein purchased a few things. He was thinking about what had happened to him. The mysterious man that had appeared knew something about Noah and his past, something Noah had no idea about. Five years ago, Noah was found washed up on the shores of the Twilight Islands, unconscious. When he had woken up, he couldn't remember anything about himself or where he had come from, aside from his name. Luckily, the residents of the islands were nice, and provided Noah with a home. It wasn't long after that that Noah became friends with Klein, who happened to be one of the people who had discovered Noah on the shore. Soon, Noah had made friends with many other residents of the islands. Since then, Noah had always wondered about the years before he woke up on the islands. He continued to ponder in silence, but was interrupted by Zidane.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking," Noah replied. "How much longer until the tournament begins?"

"About ten minutes. I guess we should get over there," Klein said.

The three made their way to where the tournament was being held. When they arrived, people were already situated around the stage, ready to watch the fighting. A beautiful girl with long, red hair saw the three walking toward the stage and ran up to them.

"Cutting it close, aren't you? For a minute, I thought you guys weren't coming."

"Sorry if we worried you Layla, but there's no way we'd miss this," Noah told her. Layla smirked.

"I wasn't worried about you. I just thought you chickened out." Noah ignored this comment and walked over to the other fighters in the tournament. Reiche spotted him and greeted him with a wave.

"You ready to lose?" he said confidently.

"No, I'm ready to win," Noah said with equal confidence.

At that, the emcee announced that the tournament was about to get underway, and a few minutes after, the first fight began. It was Noah versus Reiche. The crowd watched in awe as the two boys went up against each other. They seemed to have equal skill, dodging the other's attacks and countering. Reiche fought with the energy of a wild man, swinging his sword every which way, like some psychotic beast. Noah was unable to do much but parry the blows, only attempting to counter whenever Reiche got tired. It was beginning to look like the battle would go on for some time, when Noah did something that Reiche never saw coming. As Reiche swung his sword, Noah suddenly jumped over Reiche and landed behind him, then took a mighty swing at him. The force of the strike was so strong that Reiche was knocked forward several feet and fell over the stage's edge, hitting the ground with a loud thud. The crowd cheered madly, but none of it registered with Noah immediately. He stood there, staring blankly into space, unsure of what had occurred. It wasn't until the emcee had called out his name and said he won the round that Noah realized that it was over.

The rest of the tournament was entertaining, but nothing else was as shocking as Noah's surprisingly quick victory against Reiche except for the final round, which had Noah facing Layla. After working their way through the other competitors, neither wanted to lose, and it showed in their battle. The two exchanged blow after blow, but they didn't appear to be affected by each other's attacks. Noah tried using an overhead swing to do some damage, but Layla took the hit and retaliated without so much as a flinch. Noah also absorbed the hit, and performed a counter of his own. This pattern of strike, counter, strike, counter continued for over ten minutes. Eventually, Noah began to get tired. He was just about to throw in the towel, ready to give up the victory to Layla, when she held up her hand and stopped Noah in his tracks.

"Wait, that's enough! I'm too tired to keep going. I surrender." she said. Noah was caught off guard by this and wasn't sure what to do next, though he didn't really need to do anything.

"I guess that's it! Layla's surrender means that Noah has won the Twilight Island Tournament!" the emcee shouted. "Give him a round of applause everyone." The crowd erupted in a roar of excitement.

"As a reward for your victory, I present to you the treasure of the islands, the Twilight Crystal!" The emcee handed Noah a glittering crystal that was the color of the sky above the islands. Noah stared into the crystal, admiring its beauty. As he looked, he thought he saw something shine inside of it.

"Yo, Noah! I can't believe you beat me!" Zidane said, hopping up onto the stage to congratulate Noah. "And made it to the final round. You really surprised me."

"Yeah, and I can't believe Layla beat me," Klein said shamefully. I didn't know she was that strong!"

"How about we go celebrate your victory?" Layla asked Noah.

"Sure. I could use a drink or something. You drained my energy during our fight." he answered. The two jumped off the stage, followed by Klein and Zidane. To their surprise, Layla spun around, a curious look upon her face.

"Funny, I don't remember telling you guys to come with us," she snapped. Klein and Zidane stared at her with uncertainty.

"I am kidding, you know," Layla said. The four joined each other in a fit of laughter, but they promptly quieted down as Reiche strode over.

"...Nice job, Noah. I hope you don't plan on leaving me behind after beating me like that. I deserve a little fun too." he said. Noah smiled and told him to come along. The five left the area, chatting about the tournament as they went.

Time had flown by quickly, and Noah found himself feeling sleepy before he knew it. He said good-bye to his friends and returned to his house. The group had spent the day on the beach fishing, racing, swimming, and talking about Noah's victory. Now, the only thing Noah wanted to do was to sleep and regain his energy. As soon as he reached his room, he flopped onto his bed and drifted off into a peaceful slumber, though it didn't remain peaceful for very long. He wasn't sure when it had began, but he soon found himself having the same dream he had been having for the longest time. Once again, he was doing battle with a man in white, who held his sword so loosely at his side that it was apparent he found Noah to be no challenge at all. The room was gray, as usual, with no windows anywhere in sight. The dream was proceeding as it normally did, with Noah attacking the man relentlessly, but then Noah suddenly stopped. For some reason, he was in control of himself, whereas he usually had no control over what he did. Noah threw the sword he carried to the ground, remembering the encounter he had with the crimson-eyed man earlier in the day, when he was awake. To his surprise, the man in white dropped his weapon as well and started clapping. Noah wondered what was going on, when the man spoke.

"It took quite a while, but you've finally gotten a hold of yourself, I see."

"What are you talking about?" Noah asked, interested to see what the man in white would say.

"I'm talking about the fact that up till now, you have been a slave to your darkness, fighting me each time I appeared in your dreams."

"You sound as if you made the choice to appear to me."

"Actually, I have. I've been hoping you would realize that I wasn't a part of your mind. It means that it isn't to late to rescue you." A confused look came across Noah's face.

"Rescue me? From what?"

"From the darkness that is slowly consuming you."

"What darkness?"

The man in white opened his mouth to answer, but he didn't get to say anything as the room was eclipsed by a dark aura and the man in white disappeared into it. Out of the darkness, a ghostly voice spoke.

"Noah, do not let him fool you."

"Who's there?"came Noah's voice, although it sounded rather feeble. He didn't know why, but fear was overtaking him. The voice spoke again, the way it sounded scaring Noah further.

"You need no rescuing. The darkness is a part of you. Embrace it, let it flow through you. Don't try to reject it."

Noah's fear continued to grow. The voice, no matter how calm it tried to sound, only made things worse. Just when it looked like it couldn't get any worse, Noah started to sink into the darkness. He struggled to break free, but it was no use. He would be submerged in a matter of moments, and would be lost in the darkness. Noah outstretched his hands, hoping to grab on to anything to stop his sinking, but found nothing. It was over...or so he thought. All of a sudden, a bright light appeared above him, and a hand came out of it, waiting to be grabbed. Noah took hold of the hand and was pulled out of the darkness. He was standing back in the gray room, where the man in white was waiting.

"The darkness has a strong hold over you, but there is still a chance you can save yourself. Take this." The man held out his hand. Noah stared at the empty palm, wondering what he was supposed to take. Suddenly, there was a bright light and a strange sword appeared in the man's hand. Noah eyed it with awe. It had a milky white blade, shaped like a key, and had a silver handle. On the end of the handle was a star-shaped keychain.

"This will be your weapon. Take it." the man in white said.

Noah stepped forward and took the sword from the man. As soon as he did, blinding light filled the room, rendering Noah unable to see.

"You now have the means to fight the darkness. The White Keyblade now belongs to you," came the man's voice.

The white light disappeared and, when his eyes came back into focus, Noah found himself back in his room. The dream was over.


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four: Trouble at the Twilight Festival_

Noah sat on the edge of his bed, trying to understand what had gone on in his head. He couldn't figure out whether it was a dream or not. He was also trying to understand what the sword given to him was. The man in white had called it the White Keyblade. Was it real? The more Noah had thought about it, the more his head began to ache.

"What is going on with me?" he said aloud. "Why is all of this happening to me?"

Noah got up and walked downstairs, his mind reeling. He could hardly believe what had went on, but he didn't want to sit around the house thinking about it. He stepped outside and looked around. He didn't see anyone he knew, which was perfectly all right. He didn't really want to talk to anyone about his experience. Who would believe him? Noah made his way to North Island's beach, thinking the sound of the waves would sooth him. He plopped down onto the sand and lay down on his back, closing his eyes. He didn't get to lie there quietly for long, though. It hadn't even been one minute before Noah heard someone calling his name.

"Hi Noah. You tired or something?" It was Layla talking to him, but Noah decided he'd feign sleep and did not answer.

"I know you can hear me!" Layla yelled, running over.

When Noah still didn't answer, she smacked him hard in the chest. Noah shot up in pain, rubbing the area Layla hit him in.

"Okay, I'm up! I'm up! What the heck do you want?"

"Nothing much. Just wanted to see if you're going to the festival later. Are you?"

"Huh? Festival? That's tonight?"

"Yeah. You going or what?" Noah thought about it for a minute before he answered.

"Probably."

"Are you going to... invite anyone to go with you?"

Noah got the feeling that she was fishing for information, and knew exactly what she most likely wanted to hear.

"There is one girl I was thinking about asking. She's a pretty red-head, with a great smile and a the occasional sour attitude. I think her name starts with an L..."

"I'll be happy to go with you," Layla said happily. "I knew you couldn't resist asking me."

Noah opened his mouth to say something, but Layla skipped off before he could get it out.

"See you later," she yelled.

Noah sighed loudly and flopped down again, but he shot right back up upon hearing a strange, laughing noise. Noah got to his feet and looked around. There was no one in sight, apart for Layla's retreating figure. Noah thought about calling out to her, but decided against it when he heard the laugh once more. Noah tried to make a break for it, but an invisible force stopped him. It was like a wall of some sort, something he couldn't walk through. Noah turned around to head in a different direction, but found himself surrounded by five ghostly entities. They were fairly small and floated about six feet off the ground. Noah froze in place, staring at the strange creatures. They each let out a laugh that made Noah's spine tingle, then they started to move in. Noah was unable to move. He thought it was over for him, when he heard a voice from inside his head.

"Don't just stand there! Use your Keyblade, you fool!"

Noah remembered the sword he was given in his dream, and out of nowhere, it suddenly appeared in his hand. He stared at it for a moment, utterly confused about what was going on. One of the creatures flew at him, making him react instinctively. One swing of his sword was all it took. The creature vanished in a puff of smoke. Noah took a second to register what he just did, then knew what to do. He swung the Keyblade at the ghostly creatures, taking each one out as he hit. After the first five were gone, more started to appear. Noah, now unafraid, continued to attack. One by one, the creatures fell to the gleaming white blade. A cocky smile had broken out upon Noah's face. He was beginning to feel invincible; the creatures couldn't touch him. Noah defeated ten more of the ghostly apparitions before they stopped showing up. Noah let out a sigh of relief.

"Glad that's over."

Noah left the beach; the invisible wall now gone. He headed for Klein's home, not wanting to be alone in his own house for a while. He arrived at Klein's house just as Klein was getting there himself.

"Yo, Noah. What's happening?" Klein asked.

Noah considered the question for a few seconds. He thought about telling Klein all about the Keyblade, the strange dream, and the mysterious creatures he fought just minutes before. Noah opened his mouth to begin his story, but at the last moment, concluded that it would be better to keep that story to himself. After all, who would believe him?

"Not much. Just looking for a place to hang out for the day, until the festival at least."

"Come on in. I'm sure my mom won't mind."

The two walked inside, wondering how they were going to pass the time. Their choice was made for them as Klein's mom commissioned them to help her clean the house.

"Remind me never to come here when I've got nothing to do," Noah said, as he was handed a mop.

It was a few hours later before Noah and Klein were finished with their duties. The two were resting on the couch when someone knocked at the door.

"Who do you think that is?" Klein asked, getting up to answer the door. On the other side was Layla.

"Noah, you ready to go?" she asked, spotting Noah on the couch.

"How'd you know where I was?"

"Easy. You weren't at home, so I knew you were either with Klein, Zidane, or both of them."

Noah got up off the couch and stepped outside. Layla instantly wrapped her arm around his and held his hand.

"I would be coming with you two, but I've got something to do first. I'll see you at the festival a little later," Klein said, closing the door.

Noah and Layla left Klein's house and went to the island's dock. The yearly celebration of the islands, the Twilight Festival, was usually held on East Island, and this year was no different. When they arrived at the dock and climbed onto the boat, the boatman didn't even ask where to go. Most likely he had ferried a bunch of people over to East Island already and figured where he would be asked to go.

"...Layla, can I ask you a question?" Noah asked after sitting in silence for couple of minutes.

"What is it?"

"What's the point of the Twilight Festival anyway? No one ever told me why it's held."

"Well, I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I think it has something to do with the cave on South Island," Layla answered.

"What do you mean?" Layla shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't know any details."

The two finished the ride in silence. Once they reached the island, they worked their way through the large crowd that had assembled at the dock and entered the festival grounds. The place was lit up with the same colors as the sky and orange and pink streamers lined the surrounding buildings. There were many festival games set up throughout the grounds, and people were at every one, having a good time. Noah made a move for the nearest game booth, but Layla gripped him tightly, stopping his advance.

"Noah, hold on. Wait until the others arrive before you go play games. Let's have a little private moment to ourselves first."

Before Noah had a chance to say anything, Layla dragged him off to a secluded corner of the festival, located behind a tent where a fortune teller was doing business. Once she was sure that no one could see them, she turned to Noah and stared dreamily into his eyes. Noah stared back into hers, trying not to feel nervous. This wasn't the first time he had spent time with Layla in private. Thinking back, he remembered how she came to visit him at his house last year. She had brought a basket of food with her, hoping to have an indoor picnic with him. The plan began well, with the two enjoying Layla's homemade strawberry cake while watching the waves out of the window, but Noah's nervousness at being alone with her caused him to move the picnic out to the beach, where Zidane ended up finding them, spoiling the moment. It wasn't that he didn't like Layla, he just never knew whether or not he wanted to have a relationship with her.

"Noah, I know we haven't known each other for that long," Layla began. "But I've come to have such strong feelings for you, and it's time for you to tell me what your true feelings toward me are."

Noah turned his head to look at a passing bird, but Layla grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look into her eyes again.

"No more avoiding me. Just tell me what's in your heart."

Noah racked his brains for the words he wanted to say, but he couldn't find them and kept his mouth closed. Layla averted her gaze, tears beginning to fall out of her eyes.

"Please don't do this to me. For a long time, I have been trying to get you to like me, but every time we're alone, you run off or involve the others. This time, I won't let you run. Tell me, please!"

Noah opened his mouth, but no words came out. Unsure of what he was trying to say, Noah did the only thing that came to mind. He grabbed Layla by the arms and kissed her as passionately as he possibly could. He held her for a full two minutes before finally removing his lips from hers. Layla swayed back and forth on her feet, feeling slightly dazed.

"So, you do like me, huh?"

"Yeah, I do," Noah said, stroking her face.

Layla leaned forward to kiss him again, but was interrupted by a shrill scream. Popping out from behind the tent, the two saw people running toward the dock, terrified of something. Taking a closer look around, Noah spotted what the people were running from. A group of ghost-like entities floated slowly through the festival grounds, looking closely at every booth, as if searching for something. An image of the fight he had been in earlier flashed in Noah's mind. He knew what needed to be done.

"Stay here," he told Layla, running toward the creatures.

"Noah, stop!" she yelled, but he ignored her.

The creatures turned their attention to him as he entered their line of sight. Noah summoned his Keyblade and started swinging. Like the last time, the creatures were defeated with one hit. More began to appear as Noah dispatched the first group, but they didn't pose much of a threat. After defeating a large number of the creatures, they stopped showing up. Noah wiped the sweat off of his forehead and motioned for Layla to follow him as he started running to the dock. There were still quite a few people waiting to be ferried off the island, all of them looking extremely pale. Layla was no different.

"Noah, what the hell were those things?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," Noah answered. "I don't think." He stopped mid-sentence. He didn't know why, but he felt a sinister presence watching him.

"Layla, I want you to go find Klein and Zidane, and stay with them. Something doesn't feel right."

Noah headed back into the festival grounds, feeling that something was waiting for him there.

"Noah, where are you going?" Layla called out, but Noah wasn't listening.

He ran past all the booths, all the way to the very back of the festival grounds. He came to a halt a slight distance away from a hooded figure. Without even thinking about it, Noah summoned the White Keyblade. The figure let out a chuckle.

"So, you're the one I've been searching for," came a woman's voice from under the hood.

The figure removed the hood, revealing a young, green-haired girl.

"You may not be Sora, but if that sword of yours does what I need it to do, I'm not complaining."


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five: The Voice Inside_

The green-haired girl surveyed Noah with curious eyes. He looked at her just as curiously, although he was worried about what she was going to do.

"So, what type of Keyblade is that?" she asked suddenly. Surprised by the sudden question, Noah didn't answer immediately.

"I don't know. I'm still not sure what a Keyblade is."

"Really? Then how did you get that?"

"None of your business." The girl eyed Noah's Keyblade carefully.

"I wonder if that Keyblade can do the same things as Sora's can? I suppose it should, or else the Shade would not have come here seeking it."

"The Shade? You mean those ghost creatures?" Noah asked, realizing what she was talking about. "You were the one to send them here?"

"Yep, and just so you know, that particular type of Shade is called a 'Specter', not a ghost."

"I don't care what they're called. Why don't you just take them and leave?" Noah said harshly.

The girl laughed.

"Ooh, you must be pretty brave to try and tell me what to do. What's your name, kid?"

"Isn't it customary for one to introduce themselves before asking others their names?"

The girl laughed again.

"You are one funny guy. Seeing as you'll be gone from this world very soon, it shouldn't matter, but since I'm a nice girl, I'll tell you. My name is Micaiah. Now, what's yours?"

"It's Noah, and why does it matter to you?"

"I just like to know the names of the people I fight. It's a form of honor."

Noah looked at her, wondering what she would say next.

"You don't look like much of a fighter," Micaiah said harshly. "I can't imagine you being a tough opponent."

Noah kept quiet. He didn't like what she said, but deep down, he knew that there was a grain of truth to what she said. Noah hadn't been in many fights before and had never gotten much training. He usually just fought against Klein and the others, and those fights were never really challenging.

"What's the matter? You finished talking? Then in that case, let's get started!"

Micaiah lunged at Noah, moving with great speed. Noah was barely able to dodge the attack, not expecting her to be so fast. Micaiah followed up her first attack with a quick kick into Noah's chest that brought him to his knees. Never missing a beat, Micaiah performed a rising kick, lifting Noah up off the ground, then gave him a third kick, which sent him flying into a nearby tree. The impact nearly knocked Noah out. Getting back up on his feet, he ran at Micaiah, attempting to thrust the Keyblade through her stomach, but she easily dodged the attack and countered by doing a sweeping kick that brought Noah to the ground. Micaiah stopped her attack after this and jumped away from Noah, creating some distance between them. She watched him pull himself up out of the dirt, a wild smile upon her face. Noah felt stupid. He should have known he wouldn't be able to beat her. He wasn't exactly an experienced warrior. Just as he was beginning to think about giving up, a voice started speaking to him from inside his head.

"Are you really going to give up this easily?" the voice said.

At first, Noah believed the voice to be a hallucination, thinking he had hit his head when he crashed into the tree. Noah turned his attention on Micaiah, trying to figure out how he would approach her, but the voice spoke again, distracting him.

"I thought you were stronger than this. You fight as if you were a novice."

Noah didn't know what to make of the voice. It seemed to imply that he was stronger than he thought. Noah shook his head, trying not to hear the voice that continued to speak.

"You have forgotten much. Time to remember."

"Remember what?" Noah said aloud. Micaiah gave him a strange look.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked. Noah ignored her, paying attention only to the voice in his head.

"What type of weakling are you? Fight like you mean it!" the voice said.

Noah felt as if he was going to lose it. The voice was throwing off his concentration, not that it really mattered though. He was losing the fight, and he knew that he would most likely lose his life as well if the battle continued. Micaiah switched into an attacking position, getting ready to strike again. Just as she made a movement for Noah, a blast of dark energy flying toward her made her jump backward. Looking around, she saw who the attack had come from. On top of a small hut stood another hooded figure, armed with a conventional longsword. The hood was removed to show a brown-haired man with an annoyed look on his face.

"Micaiah, what are you doing here?" the man asked. "I was under the impression that I was sent here to obtain the Keyblade."

"I just felt like stretching my legs," Micaiah answered. "Everyone else has been having all the fun lately."

"If I'm not mistaken, didn't the master give you a job to do? Perhaps you should go and actually get it done."

Micaiah looked at the man with cold eyes. For a minute, it seemed like she wasn't going to leave.

"Fine, I'll go. Brennan, you had better not lose."

At that, Micaiah vanished with a swish of her cloak. Brennan turned to Noah.

"I don't know why she didn't just finish you off quickly, but it doesn't matter. I'll do it myself, and bring the Keyblade back to my master."

"Aren't you curious as to why I'm not that Sora guy?" Noah asked.

"Not really. If Micaiah ended up here, then you must be the one I need to fight. As long as that Keyblade does what it needs to do, I don't care who I fight."

Brennan dashed toward Noah, trying to strike a final blow and end the battle quickly. The strange voice spoke up again, sounding worried.

"Move, you idiot! We can't die here!"

Noah swiftly ran to the left, thinking he could get behind Brennan and attack, but Brennan saw this coming and swung his sword at Noah, forcing the boy to go on the defensive and block the strike. Brennan spun around to face Noah, and then unleashed a furious assault on Noah. The attack was intense, and Noah couldn't block every hit. A few of the sword swings managed to hit him on his right arm and chest. Brennan finished the combo with a devastating punch that resulted in Noah being thrown back some distance. Brennan laughed loudly.

"How sad. You aren't much of a challenge at all. Well, I'll finish up and end this painful experience."

Noah tried to get up, but couldn't find the necessary energy. He felt that he wouldn't be awake for much longer. Brennan walked over slowly, preparing to deliver his last attack. Sorrow flooded Noah's mind. He was too weak to properly defend himself, and now he was about to face the consequences of biting off more than he could chew. As Brennan stood over him in striking position, Noah closed his eyes, not wanting to see the sword come down. The image of Layla's face was the last thing that flashed in Noah's mind before he drifted off into unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six: A World Unknown_

A light breeze whipped across Noah's face as he lay on the ground, still unconscious. His face was clear of emotion; it looked as if he was dead. Suddenly, a small rock came flying out of the sky, hitting Noah smack on the forehead. The impact made him spring up and rub his forehead softly.

"Ow! What the heck was that?"

Rising up from the ground, Noah carefully surveyed his surroundings. He was standing in what looked to be a small marketplace, though it was devoid of any people at the time. The place was under some construction, but it seemed like the work would be done sometime soon. Nearby was a building that looked like a castle and was also undergoing work. After he had gathered his bearings, Noah walked across the marketplace, checking the stores as he went. They were stocked to the brim with items, yet no one was working. Noah stopped at a stairway leading down into a town area. He walked down slowly, keeping his ear open for anything that sounded suspicious. Once he reached the bottom, Noah stopped. An already familiar laughing sound filled the air and created an ominous feeling in the atmosphere. As Noah expected, several Shade appeared out of thin air. Noah noticed that there was a different type of Shade among the common specter variety. It resembled a martial arts fighter, except slightly more menacing. Unaffected by the newcomer, Noah brought out his White Keyblade.

The martial artist Shade leaped at Noah, swinging its fists at an incredible speed. Noah knew he wouldn't be able to block the attack, so he concentrated on dodging the hits. He managed to get out of the path of the attack, but not before taking a few hits. With no time to recover, Noah started swinging his Keyblade at the group, defeating several Specters at once. The martial artist Shade jumped behind Noah and punched him hard in the back. The punch flung Noah forward a few feet, causing him to hit the wall face first. Blood dripped out of Noah's nose as he turned around to face the piston-punching Shade. Noah wiped the blood away and lunged at the Shade, but his attack was unnecessary. A young man with brown hair and a scar on his face had defeated the Shade first, with only a single swing of his sword. The remaining Specters disappeared at this point, leaving only Noah and the young man standing. Noah eyed the sword the other was holding. It looked like a revolver that had been altered to act as a sword. The young man stared at Noah with a stony look for a few seconds, then switched his focus to the Keyblade in the young boy's hand.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"The name's Noah. You?"

"Where'd you get that sword?"

"You didn't tell me _your_ name yet."

"My name isn't important, but where you got that sword is." Noah stared at him with an amazed look.

"How can you ask someone about their possessions without even introducing yourself? That isn't exactly minding your manners, is it?"

"...My name is Leon."

"Okay, now was that so hard to do?" Noah asked jokingly.

"Sorry, but I need to know where that sword came from."

"This?" Noah looked at the white sword in his hand. "I don't really know how I got it. I thought it had all been some crazy dream." Leon's face showed mild disbelief.

"A dream, huh? Sounds a bit too weird to me."

"No, weird is the creatures that attacked me on my island, and...wait! The islands, I almost forgot! I've gotta get back!"

Noah made a move for the stairway, but Leon grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Hold on a minute. What's up?"

"My home, the islands where I live, were under attack by the Shade. I have to go back and make sure no one's hurt!"

"Slow down a sec. You're gonna have to start from the beginning," Leon said, interested in what Noah was talking about.

Noah told Leon about the Shade and how they attacked the islands and about how Micaiah and Brennan tried to kill him and acquire the White Keyblade. He left out the part about how he got the blade in the first place, thinking that Leon wouldn't believe it.

"I see. That's quite a predicament, but you're nowhere near your island now."

"How am I supposed to get back then?"

"There's one method, but it could take a while to get ready."

"What is it?"

"Come with me, and you'll find out."

Leon led Noah through the small borough and to a house where a young woman was waiting outside.

"Leon! I was looking for you. I can't seem to find Yuffie."

"I'm sure she's out doing some training or something. Aerith, this is Noah." Leon said. Noah waved to the woman.

"Nice to meet you," Aerith said.

"Is Cid in there? I have to talk to him about something."

Aerith started to say something, but she was distracted by a loud scream that echoed all over the borough.

"That sounded like Yuffie!" Leon exclaimed.

"I think it came from the bailey!" Aerith added.

The two ran off, followed closely by Noah. When they arrived at the bailey, the three saw a bunch of specters hovering above someone. They were making the eerie laughing sound that Noah had heard before.

"Leon, that's Yuffie over there!" Aerith said.

Leon prepared to fight the Shade off, but Noah reacted first. Using his Keyblade, he struck down each specter quickly and easily. After fighting them several times before, Noah found this common variety of Shade to be no problem. When he had taken care of them all, Leon and Aerith ran over to examine Yuffie.

"Yuffie, you alright?" Leon asked.

"I'm fine. They just caught me off guard," Yuffie said, getting up. "It's not everyday that you see a bunch of ghosts." She looked at Noah, about to thank him for his help, then noticed the Keyblade he was holding.

"Funny. I remember your hair being brown, Sora."

"He's not Sora, Yuffie. His name is Noah," Leon informed her.

"Uh...I knew that. His eyes just look like Sora's, that's all." Leon looked at Noah hard.

"Huh. How 'bout that. The same blue eyes," he said, mildly surprised. Yuffie redirected her attention to Noah's Keyblade.

"You know, that looks just like the one Sora has, except it's white. Where'd you get it?"

"A dream...I think," Noah answered. He felt stupid for saying it.

"Let's not worry about that now. Noah has a little problem," Leon said. He told Aerith and Yuffie what Noah had told him.

"Sounds just like old times, doesn't it?" Yuffie asked the other two.

"Yes, it certainly does," Aerith commented.

"It's like he's experiencing the same events as Sora," Leon added.

Noah felt uninformed. He wanted to know who Sora was and why everyone kept mentioning him.

"If we're done here, let's get back. Noah needs to talk to Cid," Leon said.

Everyone headed back to the borough, but Noah lagged behind. There were questions in his head that he wanted answered. Why had all this happened to him? What was going to happen next? When would he get back home?


	8. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven: Encounter_

The group headed back to the house in the borough, all of them thinking hard about different things. Noah's only concern was how he would get home, but Leon and the girls were only thinking about him. They wondered why he had a Keyblade and what that might have meant. They didn't know of anyone else who possessed a Keyblade other than Sora and King Mickey, and to find out that there was another was somewhat surprising. When they all arrived back at the house in the borough, a man who looked like he could be some kind of engineer was standing outside. Though he didn't wear any clothes like an engineer, there was an air about him that said engineer. The fact that Leon happened to point that out helped a bit too.

"Cid, I'm glad you're here. I need to talk to you," Leon said.

"What do ya need, Leon?"

"A gummi ship." A surprised expression broke out on Cid's face.

"Gummi ship, huh? I can't help ya there. All I've got are a few pieces I've been holding on to."

"I thought you had enough to build an entire ship."

"I did too, but I don't know what happened to them."

Leon let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Well Noah, I'm not sure what to do. The gummi ship was the only way I could think of for you to get off of this world," he said.

"That's just great. Now what am I supposed to do?" Noah said with a distressed tone.

"Don't worry Noah. Maybe Merlin can help."

"Who's Merlin?"

"He's the guy who owns this house, and he's a powerful sorcerer," Yuffie said. "He might just have an alternate way of getting you out of here."

A hopeful look instantly sprung up on Noah's face. There was still a chance he could get home.

The five stood around aimlessly, waiting for the wizard Merlin to appear. After a twenty minute wait, Merlin finally popped into the house, accompanied by a large cloud of smoke. Noah took a moment to examine the wizard. He was an old man with a long white beard, and he wore a long, blue wizard's robe with matching blue hat. Looking at his face, Noah could tell that Merlin was probably an eccentric person. He could just see it in his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" the wizard asked the group.

"We need your help. He needs a way home," Leon said, pointing at Noah.

"And who might this be?"

Leon gave Merlin the full report on Noah and his predicament. The wizard listened with great interest, particularly to the part about Noah having a Keyblade.

"I see. You can't use a gummi ship, so you were hoping I knew of another way, correct?" Merlin said.

"That's pretty much it. Think you can help him?" Leon asked.

Merlin stroked his beard lightly, thinking deeply.

"Hmm...I don't think there are any other ways to get off of a world, short of some magical means."

"Isn't that right up your alley?" Yuffie asked.

"Perhaps, but I'm not sure I can help him. I don't know where his islands are located, so I can't use magic to transport him."

Noah's face had defeat written all over it. Even Merlin couldn't get him home. Now what would he do?

"Hold on a minute. Didn't Cid have some left over gummi parts?" Merlin asked.

"I thought I did, but I don't," Cid answered. "It's either that or I misplaced 'em somewhere."

"How could you misplace all of those gummi parts?" Yuffie asked. Cid simply shook his head. Noah also wondered how such a quantity of items could be missing. It didn't seem like anyone could just misplace something so important. As his mind dwelled on it further, Noah heard a strange voice start speaking.

"What's wrong? Can't figure out what to do?"

Noah looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. No one else seemed to hear it.

"Did you ever think that maybe those parts were stolen?" the voice asked.

"What are you talking about?" Noah said softly.

"If you couldn't sense him, then you won't live very long. You should step outside. He's waiting."

"Who?"

"Go find out."

Noah made his way to the door in a nonchalant manner and stepped outside. He scanned the area, but didn't see anything suspicious.

"Give him a minute. He'll reveal himself," the voice said.

Noah continued to look around, but still saw nothing. Just when he had stopped trying, a strange feeling overcame him and once again Noah found himself inside a dark void, unable to see anything around him.

"Hello, Noah. How are you?" came a voice from the darkness. Noah twitched slightly upon hearing it, but was not scared.

"What do you want with me?" he asked angrily.

"I just want to see if you have returned to normal."

Noah growled loudly.

"I AM NORMAL! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The voice snickered deviously, finding Noah's anger funny.

"You are deluding yourself, Noah. You have not been normal since you first washed up on the Twilight Islands."

Noah's anger disappeared and was replaced by curiosity.

"How do you know what happened to me?"

The voice snickered again, accompanied by the emergence of a figure out of the darkness. It was the same hooded man that had appeared to Noah back on the islands. The man stood quietly for a moment, surveying Noah with his crimson colored eyes.

"I know many things about you. Things you might not believe."

"Try me."

The crimson-eyed man sighed loudly.

"Trust me, you aren't ready to know everything yet. When the time comes, I will tell you everything."

"Well, answer this for me. Did you steal the parts of the gummi ship?"

"Yes, I am the one responsible. I didn't want you returning home so soon."

Noah's anger returned at double the intensity.

"Who are you to decide when I can go home? What does it matter to you?"

"...It means everything to me. You have to regain your memory before...before our lives can return to normal."

Noah was completely speechless. He had no idea what the man was talking about, but he had a feeling that this man knew something that was important.

"Who are you?" Noah asked.

"...You may call me Naharl. I have to take my leave of you, but I promise to return and tell you everything when you are ready to know. Until then, I would advise you to keep an eye out for yourself."

"You know something about those two that attacked me?"

"Maybe. All I'm going to say is keep in mind that you have enemies watching you, but you have friends out there as well."

"Who? You?"

"Not me, but others are watching out for your well-being. I'm sure you'll meet them sooner or later."

Naharl receded into the darkness, taking the void with him. When Noah could see the borough again, he noticed that there was a stack of some strange material sitting in the spot where Naharl had been standing. Noah stood in place, like a statue, unsure of whether he wanted to move or not.

Leon came outside a second later, his head hanging.

"Noah, listen I...hey, those are gummi ship parts!" He said the last part loudly, prompting the others to emerge from the house.

"Where'd they come from?" Yuffie asked.

"I don't know, but this is great," Aerith said.

"Yeah. Now I can build a small ship," Cid said.

Noah was still in the same spot. It almost seemed like he hadn't registered the others yet.

"Noah, Noah, what happened?" Leon inquired, grabbing Noah by the shoulder and shaking him.

Noah, after taking a second to realize he wasn't alone, told Leon and the others about his encounter with Naharl. He left out the part about the strange voice he heard that urged him to go outside, though. He felt like they would think he was crazy.

"Well, I don't know who this Naharl is, but at least Cid has his gummi parts back!" Yuffie said. "Now you can go back home, Noah!"

Noah thought about his islands, about the people he already missed dearly, and about how he wanted to make sure they were okay. He thought that he could now return, but something was bugging him. If what Naharl said was true, and that there were enemies following him, returning home wouldn't be the best idea. The last thing Noah wanted to do was to expose his friends to more threats.

"Noah, what's wrong? You look like something is bothering you," Aerith said. Noah shook his head, not wanting to bother anyone else with his thoughts.

Cid started to pick up the gummi parts and carry them toward the bailey in order to start working on the ship, asking for the others' help as he went. Leon was the first to pick up a pile of parts and follow Cid, but he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he suddenly dropped them on the ground.

"Leon, you okay?" Noah asked. As the words left his mouth, an ominous feeling overcame him. He could sense some kind of presence that wasn't around before.

"Noah, give me your Keyblade," Leon said out of nowhere.

"Why? What's up?" Noah asked him.

"Give me the Keyblade, now!"

"Leon, are you alright?" Aerith said, sounding worried.

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

"What do you want my Keyblade for?" Noah questioned.

"Just give me the sword!" Leon roared, spinning around to face Noah. "You need to die now!"

"Leon, what is wrong with you?" Yuffie exclaimed.

Leon ignored her and whipped out his Gunblade. Noah summoned his Keyblade, realizing that Leon was about to engage him in a fight. Something was horribly wrong.


	9. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight: Noah vs. Leon_

Noah stared at Leon in confusion. He was desperately trying to figure out what Leon was doing. Was it some kind of bad joke? He didn't have time to finish his thoughts as Leon came at him, aiming to land a fatal blow before the battle could even begin. Noah evaded the attack by rolling to his side, but found himself being struck by a small fireball from Leon's blade. The attack was somewhat damaging, but nothing that Noah couldn't get up from. Once he was back on his feet, Noah tried a charging tactic, but that was a failed attempt. Leon jumped over Noah and landed behind him in a move to gain the perfect chance to strike. He swung the Gunblade forcefully, but Noah managed to guard against the blow. The battle quickly became a clash of equals as Noah and Leon both exchanged hits, with neither actually landing one. There was only the sound of metal clanging as their swords clashed together.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Aerith yelled. "Stop before someone gets hurt!"

"Yeah, Leon. This isn't funny!" Yuffie added. Leon didn't bother to look their way. His only concern was taking down Noah, and he seemed serious about doing it.

The battle continued with neither warrior overpowering the other, which Noah found surprising. Either Leon was holding back, or Noah had gotten better with his Keyblade. Whatever the reason, Noah felt like the fight would go on forever if he didn't do something to stop it. He started thinking of ways to defeat Leon other than through direct combat, but he found it hard to concentrate. There was a strange feeling bothering him, like someone was watching all this. He had felt it before Leon attacked him, but forgot about it while trying to keep himself alive. Noah took a quick look around, but saw nothing. Dodging another strike from Leon, he looked again. Still, he saw nothing, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was around somewhere.

"He's not where you think he is," came the voice from Noah's head. "He's actually in plain sight, but you can't see him."

Noah didn't understand. How could someone be in plain sight but not be seen?

"Want me to find him for you? Let me take over and I'll finish this whole thing quickly," said the voice.Noah wasn't sure what he meant by 'take over', but he didn't like the sound of it.

"Just point me in his general direction," Noah whispered to the voice.

"Don't want to take a chance with me? Fine, I see how you want to be. The person you're looking for is inside your friend, in a way."

"What do you mean?"

"Think possession. The only way to end this is to beat your friend, but it looks like you aren't doing so hot. I can do it for you."

"I don't need your help. I don't even know what you are!"

"Really? Well, I think you do. You just don't understand yet. Maybe using a bit of your dormant power will help you remember. Here, I'll help you access it."

Noah didn't know what the voice was talking about and didn't really care. His top priority was figuring out how to free Leon from his possession, if that's what it was. He made a quick movement for Leon, trying to get through the swordsman's defense, but Noah found himself stopping his own action and jumping over Leon instead. Noah tried to change his attack strategy and strike from behind, but he couldn't control his movements. Rather than swinging the Keyblade at Leon like he had intended to do, Noah aimed his Keyblade like he was going to shoot out a projectile. To his great surprise, a red-colored energy ball flew from the White Keyblade's tip and struck Leon square on the chest, sending him spiraling through the air and onto his back.

"That's how you do it, although it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be," the voice said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Well, once you get the hang of doing it yourself, it should become stronger, yet how you could forget how to do it is beyond me."

Noah barely registered the voice, as he was looking at Leon and hoping he was all right, but took particular interest in the last few words of that sentence.

"What do you mean 'how I could forget how to do it'?" he asked, half curious and half scared. "I've never known how to do that, and while you're explaining that, you can tell me why I couldn't control my body during that attack!"

"First of all, there are quite a few things that you have forgotten how to do. Secondly, I may not have full control of your body, but I'm able to use it for myself for a period of time, usually only about a minute.While that's a great ability, I can't use it often, and I still feel restricted to having you in control. If only you'd listen to Naharl, things would be so much better."

"Shut up!"

Noah was getting tired of listening to the voice in his head and brought his focus back to Leon, who had gotten up and was still ready to rumble. Noah charged at him with full force, but Leon sidestepped him and countered with a swing of his Gunblade. Noah saw this coming as soon as he missed his strike and had already ducked into a dodge roll as Leon's sword came at him, harmlessly flying over Noah's head. Noah came out of his roll and faced Leon. Landing a hit was hard, and the fact that Leon was the better fighter didn't help matters at all. Noah was drawing a blank about what to do.

Suddenly, a voice began to speak to Noah again, but it wasn't the same voice as before. This one was female, and sounded very soft and caring, and somewhat familiar.

"Noah, can you hear me?"

"Uh, yes, I can. Who am I speaking to?"

"Don't worry about that. Use the White Keyblade to free your friend of his possessor."

"How do I do that?"

"Let the Keyblade guide your hand. It'll take care of the rest."

The voice stopped speaking, leaving Noah flabbergasted. How was he supposed to let the Keyblade guide him? It didn't seem possible, but considering his current situation, Noah was ready to try anything. Taking a deep breath, Noah loosened his grip on the White Keyblade, unsure of any other way to get it to 'guide his hand'. Unexpectedly, the Keyblade began to shine brightly, nearly making Noah stumble in surprise. Once again, Noah lost control of himself, only this time it was his arm and it felt much different from before. His arm raised up, pointing the White Keyblade at Leon. A single ray of light erupted from it's tip and flew toward Leon, going right through his body. Noah gasped in fear, but it immediately changed into astonishment as a strange shadow was expelled from Leon's body by the White Keyblade's light. The shadow floated around in the air for a second, then dissolved into nothingness. Noah's Keyblade stopped emitting the beam of light and returned to it's normal state, with Noah regaining control of his arm as it did so.

"What just happened?" came Yuffie's voice.

"I...have no idea," Noah said. "That was...strange. Leon, you okay?"

Leon shook his head and looked around. He seemed lost.

"What happened to me?" he asked. "I remember carrying gummi pieces, but that's about it."

Noah shot into the best explanation of the previous fight he could put together. He left out the part about the voices in his head and said that he had come up with the idea to use his Keyblade to help Leon. No one questioned the story, although Yuffie, Cid and Aerith had questions about the energy ball Noah used against Leon. Noah said that he didn't know why that happened and that he probably couldn't do it again. The others accepted this explanation, but seemed unsatisfied somewhat. Leon didn't care, however. He was too busy thinking about his strange experience; how he couldn't remember anything about what happened. It was something that had never occurred before, and was more than a little creepy.

The rest of the day continued without any more strangeness, but it didn't matter to Noah. His day had already ended up so strange that he couldn't enjoy the company of the others, feeling like he couldn't tell them the things that went on in his head. In an attempt to get away from Yuffie's constant questioning, Noah left Merlin's house and went to and beyond the bailey all the way to a place that was eerily quiet, perfect for Noah's current desire to be alone. It was a large cliff side that looked like the edge of the world. Looking over the side, Noah could see only darkness. He stood there and looked out at the sky, which was rapidly turning dark. Stars could be seen in several spots and were shining brightly. Noah sighed loudly and wondered how his friends back home were doing.

After a few minutes of thought, Noah started the walk back to Merlin's house, but he was stopped by something weird. A large doorway had appeared in the middle of the pathway, blocking his progression.

"What is this?" he said to himself.

Noah got the feeling he should step away from the door, but something kept him from getting away from it, aside from the fact it was in his way.

"Don't be afraid, Noah. The door is not dangerous," said a soft voice.

Noah recognized it as the female voice that had helped him during his fight with Leon.

"Who are you?" Noah asked.

"Just a friend looking out for your well-being. I've been keeping my eye on you for a while now, and I can no longer stand by and watch as you are manipulated by the forces of darkness!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not being manipulated."

"That's what Naharl wants you to think. Don't listen to his lies, Noah. You are not meant to return to your former life. You destiny lies elsewhere, and it begins with you walking through that door."

Noah stared at the door, wondering what he should do, or if he should even be paying attention to this strange voice. After all, he couldn't even see what this person looked like, though she did sound quite kind. Maybe she was trying to help him out.

"Noah, your life will not return to normal unless you embrace your destiny, the one that was chosen for you when you were found washed up on the Twilight Islands. Walk through the door, and begin your journey to reclaim that life. That is what you must do," the voice told him.

"What do you know about my past?"

"That is something you must discover for yourself. Open the door and you'll find what you're looking for."

"Where does this door lead?"

There was no answer. Noah looked at the door with apprehension as he reached for the door handle. Before pulling on it and opening the door, Noah considered the consequences of his action. Leon and the others wouldn't know where he went, nor would he himself even know where the door would lead him. Nevertheless, if going through the door lead him to the secrets of his past, or better yet, a way home, he would be willing to risk it. Noah pulled on the handle and opened the door. Bright light flooded out, blinding Noah, but he went through it anyway. When the light faded and Noah could see again, he found himself on a lush, tropical island. The door was nowhere to be seen. Apparently it was a one way trip only.

Noah took a few steps and analyzed his new surroundings. There wasn't a patch of land to be seen out across the ocean, nor were there any people around. This made Noah feel like he was stranded, and that wasn't a good feeling. The good thing was that the island environment reminded Noah of his own island home, but after a minute, the joyful thoughts of roaming the islands with his friends brought new sorrow. The idea of being stranded worked it's way into Noah's head again, bringing with it the unwanted thoughts of the chance of never returning home again. It was the most unpleasant Noah had felt throughout his whole ordeal, the only exception being how he felt when he thought he would die at Brennan's hands back at the festival.

Just as Noah was about to consider the very idiotic idea of swimming across the seemingly endless ocean, he spotted someone walking towards him. It was a young girl, clad in a black dress and witch's hat, and she looked very young, probably no older than seventeen. She had a soft and gentle looking face, complemented by her baby blue eyes, and she had a smile on her face that only made her face all the more beautiful. Noah nearly melted upon seeing her, but Layla's face burst into his mind, bringing him back to his senses. The girl halted a few feet from him, still smiling. Noah was unsure of what to say, or even if he wanted to say anything at all. The girl stared at him for a moment, letting out what sounded like a triumphant snicker as she did so.

"I knew you would do it, Noah. I knew you'd step through the door," she said confidently.

Noah's eyes widened in surprise. The girl's voice was the one he'd just finished speaking to minutes ago. This was the girl who said she was a friend. At that very second, Noah felt relief for the first time since his little journey began.


	10. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine: The Path Revealed_

"So, how have you been?" the young witch asked.

"I've felt better. So far, it seems like my life has been drifting out of my control for the worse," Noah answered.

"Yes, I know. I'm just so happy you've managed to survive. I don't what I'd do if you had been killed."

"I hope this doesn't sound too rude, but who exactly are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot that you forgot who I was quite a while ago. My name is Luna, although some prefer to call me the 'Black Witch'."

"That's an interesting name. Sounds a bit evil."

"Don't worry, it's just a name. I'm not a bad girl."

"So, we know each other?"

"Yeah, we do, but I wouldn't worry about that right now. You've got to get going!"

"You can get me home?"

"No, but I can show you the path that will get you there."

Noah became excited, thinking that he was finally going home.

"Don't get too happy," Luna warned. "It won't be an easy way to go."

"What do you mean?"

Luna waved her hand in the air, making three very strange entities appear. They were all black, with the exception of their yellow eyes, and seemed to be very shadow-like.

"They look like some kid's deformed shadow," Noah said.

"Well, it is called a Shadow," Luna told him. "It's a form of Heartless."

Before Noah could ask what a 'Heartless' was, Luna commanded the trio of Shadows to attack. Noah did a stylish cartwheel to evade the attacks and summoned his keyblade. He struck swiftly and effectively, eliminating all three of the creatures with one stroke. Luna looked at him, impressed with his move, and called up another batch of Shadows, which Noah promptly defeated. They were easy enemies.

"Okay, that was pretty good. Let's see how you fare against a slightly stronger foe," Luna said, and she summoned a new enemy. This one looked a little closer to a human, sort of. It was a mix of a black and bluish color along with some pale red on the legs and fingernails. It wore a silver helmet over it's head and the only facial features Noah could make out were piercing yellow eyes. It's most defining feature, however, was a mysterious marking on it that looked like a heart with an 'x' in the middle. Noah remembered seeing that same mark on Naharl during their first meeting on the Twilight Islands.

"It's a Soldier, a stronger Heartless than the Shadows," Luna informed him. Noah engaged it without much thought of an attack strategy. This mistake brought him face to face with a powerful kick from the Heartless, which he wasn't expecting, that knocked him off his feet. The Soldier went for another kick, but Noah was ready this time. He rolled out of the way and flung his keyblade at the Heartless like a boomerang. It struck it's target, taking it down as it flew off and hit the ground a short distance away. Noah stood up and walked toward it, but Luna stopped him.

"You won't live too long if you're disarmed like that. Don't waste time by walking over to it. Just call it back."

"How do I do that?"

"I don't know. I'm not the one who's using it. I do know that it should be connected to you, giving you great control over it, though. I guess you just use your head."

Noah looked at his blade, reaching out to it as he mentally asked for it to return. To his surprise, it did just that.

"Huh. That's pretty handy." Noah turned to Luna, his keyblade disappearing from his hand like it usually did. "Why did you attack me?"

"Just a test to see your fighting ability. You'll be facing many Heartless on the path you'll be using, and you'll need to defeat them if you hope to make it back home in one piece."

"That isn't a problem. Just show me the way."

"Not now. Let's just spend some time talking for a while. I'm sure you can spare an hour, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose I can. What do you want to talk about?"

"You can start by telling me how you've been."

Noah spent the better part of the next hour talking about his life on the islands and how happy he was, even though he couldn't remember anything about his life before that. Luna seemed happy to know that Noah was living a good life, though Noah could clearly see her attention waver when he talked about his friend Layla being the closest to him of his group. He couldn't help but wonder if that bothered Luna a little bit.

Before their conversation came to close, Noah tried to get Luna to tell him about his past, but Luna proved to be a tough nut to crack.

"Come on, tell me!" he pleaded.

"No. You're free to find out on your own, if you really want to know."

"I may never find it out on my own! You have all the answers I need!"

"I said no. I don't want to spoil the life you've made for yourself."

Noah looked confused.

"What do you mean? How could you spoil my life?"

Luna immediately wished that she hadn't said anything. "You know what? Don't sweat it. Let's just get you going, shall we?" Luna grabbed Noah by the arm and led him to a strange door that seemed to be blocking the way into a cave of some sort.

"What's inside of there?" Noah asked.

"The path to home," Luna answered. "But I have to warn you, Noah. This path will not be an easy one. I'm sure that there will be many foes in your way. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Noah opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it after only a few seconds. He remembered something that Naharl had said, about enemies watching him. Would returning home really be a bad idea? The thought made Noah somewhat nervous, but he wanted to go home more than anything else. If someone managed to follow him, he'd just have to fight them and protect his friends.

"I'm ready. Nothing will stop me now."

"Then step through the door and begin your journey home."

Noah gripped the doorknob firmly and opened the door without hesitating for a moment. Bright light poured out of the door, blinding Noah a bit, but he walked through without problem. It took a moment before the light faded and Noah's eyes re-adjusted. When he could see again, Noah found himself standing in the middle of what looked like a town. As he looked at his new surroundings, he noticed that the sky was a beautiful mixture of orange, pink, and some purple. For a moment, Noah thought that he was back home, but he quickly realized that the buildings weren't familiar. Not only that, he spotted a trolley rolling through town. His islands didn't have one of those.

"Where am I now?" he said to the air.


	11. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten: Twilight Town_

Noah slowly wandered around the town, trying to figure out exactly why he hadn't ended up back on his island like he thought he would. The town held a striking similarity to his own island home, and Noah wasn't surprised when he found out that the place was called Twilight Town. The problem with all of that was that it made him frustrated about not being back home. Luna told him that he was taking the path to home when he stepped through the door, but she also called it a journey. Maybe it meant that he had to reach his goal on his own, but since he had no means of traveling for himself, that was impossible.

As he explored Twilight Town, Noah eventually arrived at a secluded alleyway, away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the town. At the end of the alleyway was an open gate that led into some kind of interior. The entrance was covered by what looked like a large curtain, telling Noah that this particular spot was meant to be concealed. Intrigued, Noah walked inside, despite the fact that he knew the place was probably someone's hangout. Sure enough, on the other side of the curtain was a some sort of living area that looked like it functioned as a spot for friends to chill out, along with the friends who used it.

"What do you want?" asked one of the teens rudely. "This is our spot, so you can just move along."

"My bad, just taking a look around, trying to get a feel for the town," Noah responded.

"Yeah, well go 'get a feel' somewhere else."

"Hayner, you shouldn't be so mean," one of the others said. "You were like that when we first met Sora too."

"_There's that name again,_"Noah thought. He wondered exactly who this Sora person was.

"Sorry about him. He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. My name's Olette, that one is Pence," she pointed to a boy sitting on a small couch, "and this walking attitude problem is Hayner. What's your name?"

"I'm Noah."

"You must be new in town, right? If you want, we can show you around," Pence offered.

"No, I'm fine on my own, but thanks for the offer." He thought about asking them about Sora, wanting to know more about him, but he wasn't sure how much these kids would know and decided not to ask.

"In that case, you can go on and leave," Hayner said. "You're interrupting an important meeting."

"What he really means is that if you need anything, you're welcome to ask us," Olette said.

"Thanks," Noah said and left the hangout to let the three talk about whatever was so important.

Outside, he decided to continue his exploration of the town, wondering how he was going to make it out of Twilight Town. His mind was so focused on his dilemma that he was unaware that he was being watched from above. Luna and a man in white were standing on a rooftop, watching him closely.

"So, what was the point in sending him here, Lucien?" Luna asked.

"I wanted to see how he was doing," Lucien replied.

"He's fine for the moment, but that might change at anytime. If Naharl decides to use force to bring him back, I don't know what will happen."

"Don't worry. Noah will overcome his darkness."

"How can you be so sure?" Luna sounded like she wasn't sure of Lucien's certainty.

"He has to. If he doesn't, it'll lead to war."

"War?"

"Yes, a war between Heartless. I don't think Maleficent would appreciate someone else controlling the Heartless. She'd do everything she could to stop that from happening."

"You're right. Noah just has to be strong enough to beat his darkness. I don't know what I'd do if he became his old self again." Luna paused for a moment, thinking about something. "Lucien, what of the Shade, and the Seven Swords? What role do they play in all of this?" Lucien didn't answer immediately, causing Luna to look worried.

"I'm not sure yet, but it can't be good. Noah will have to keep an eye out for them, the Nobodies as well."

"The Nobodies?"

"Yes. They are still around, but I have no idea as to what they might do."

"And Sora? Why do you have him sleeping in the mansion?"

"Sora would only complicate things. When the time is right, he'll awaken."

"But I still don't get how he fits in to anything."

"Simply put, he and Noah are connected, destined to come together very soon. I just hope that it isn't as enemies. Come on, we should get over to the mansion. I'm sure Noah will arrive there at some point." The two vanished into thin air.

Noah was in the Tram Common area of Twilight Town, standing in front of a huge hole in the wall. He found it weird that there was a hole there, and even weirder that he could see a wooded area on the other side. He walked through the hole and made his way into the woods. He didn't have a long walk before he came out, finding himself in a small clearing in front of a large mansion.

"Well, this is an unexpected find," he said. "What would a mansion be doing here?"

He stared at the place, a strange feeling washing over him. He could sense something inside the mansion, but he didn't know what it was. He wanted to go inside, to find the something that he was sensing, but the entrance gate was closed and locked, barring him from entering. As if to grant him his wish, the gate suddenly swung open, allowing Noah access inside. He cautiously walked through the front yard and stopped at the front door, taking a deep breath before opening it. Inside, the mansion looked quite rundown and broken, almost as if there had been a fight here once. The only thing worth looking at was a small model of a castle that sat inside a glass case. Noah looked at it intently for a moment, failing to notice that he was no longer alone.

"It's nice, isn't it? I like it too."

Noah jumped, startled by the voice. He looked up to find a familiar man in white standing on the staircase.

"I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Noah asked.

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten me. I'm Lucien, the one who so graciously gave you your Keyblade."

Noah instantly realized that this Lucien character was the man who had been in his dreams some time ago.

"So you're the one I can thank for the White Keyblade, huh?"

"Yes, that's right, and just so you know, it's not called a 'keyblade' for nothing. Next time you come across a locked door, gate, or locked anything, try using it. I won't always be around to open them for you."

"I guess that means you opened the gate for me. Why? What do you want from me?"

"Nothing, really. I just wanted to see something."

"And what might that something be?"

"Whether or not your heart's been swallowed by the darkness."

Noah stared at Lucien in confusion. What darkness was he talking about?

"I don't have any darkness in my heart," Noah said, clearly certain of his statement.

"It's good to know that you believe that. Keep thinking that way and you'll be fine."

"What are you talking about?" He looked at Lucien curiously, at a complete loss as to what the man meant.

"Never mind. It shouldn't concern you."

Noah was unsure of what to say next, but all thoughts of Lucien and what he seemed to know were pushed out of Noah's mind when another voice rang out through the foyer.

"He's right, you know. You shouldn't worry about things like that, especially when death is upon you!"

A cloaked figure stepped out of a dark portal that appeared at the front door. The figure removed the hood of his cloak, revealing the face of someone Noah had nowhere near forgotten, though he couldn't remember his name.

"You again," Noah said.

"Oh yes, me again!" the man shouted maniacally. "I suppose I should've given you my name during our last meeting, but I didn't think you needed to know, seeing as I had planned on killing you then."

Noah started to shake slightly, fearful of the unavoidable engagement that was about to start. The last time he faced this man, the fight ended before it even had a chance to begin. Granted, he was already in pain at the time due to another enemy, but it didn't make him feel any better now.

"I intend on finishing what I started last time, but I'll give you the joy of knowing who killed you. The name's Brennan, and I hope you appreciate my generosity. Oh, and as for you," he looked at Lucien, "stay out of our way." Brennan snapped his fingers, causing a group of large, bat-like creatures to appear, which immediately swarmed Lucien. Noah summoned his Keyblade, ready for what was next, but not sure how to handle it.

"Hopefully you'll put up a better fight than last time, eh?" Brennan said, taking out his own blade. "If you're ready, let's do this!"


	12. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven: Noah's Other Half_

Noah knew that he couldn't avoid the battle, though he hoped that there was a way. As Lucien was busy dealing with the Shade, Noah was forced to fight alone. He took a deep breath and waited for his enemy to make the first move, still hoping for an alternative.

Brennan lunged at Noah, taking a wide swing as he did. Noah managed to dodge the lunge by sidestepping it, but Brennan wasn't going to be avoided that easily. He spun around abruptly and kicked Noah in the chest, knocking him back a few feet. As Noah picked himself up from the ground, a stunning realization hit him. He wasn't in as much pain as he was when Micaiah had kicked him. This told him that Brennan wasn't as physically strong, and made Noah feel like he could actually win the fight. With that thought in mind, Noah was the one to make the next move, sprinting toward Brennan and attempting to run his Keyblade through him. Brennan jumped over Noah and fired off a strange, white orb. The orb moved slowly toward Noah, slow enough to make Noah think of it as a joke. He moved to run around it, but found out all too late that that was a mistake.

Without warning, the orb exploded in a flash of light, washing over Noah. All of a sudden, Noah began hearing a voice in his head, but it wasn't the usual voice he'd heard before. This was a woman's voice, and she was screaming bloody murder. The sheer volume of her voice made Noah feel like his head was being split open and his eyes were bleeding. It was an unbearable pain that he believed would kill him, until it stopped suddenly. Noah was on the floor, writhing uncontrollably.

"Yeah, I've always loved that attack. It's a real blast, isn't it?" Brennan cackled. Noah started to stand up, but quickly found himself back on the floor as his head was flooded with bloodcurdling screams again, this time those of a man's.

"I hope you're enjoying hearing the pain of my victims. I try so hard to make death an enjoyable process...for me at least!" Brennan exclaimed, letting out a screeching laugh.

After a few more seconds of screaming, Noah's head cleared up again. He wondered how long the reprieve would last.

"Well, well, how do you feel?" Brennan asked. "I don't expect you to be feeling too good about now. It doesn't take long for people to succumb to the screaming."

Noah tried to stand up again, but as soon as he managed to get on his knees, the screams returned and he flopped back onto the floor.

"Noah, what's going on?" Lucien yelled. He was still tangling with the bat-like Shade, but he'd almost defeated them all, having only one left to deal with.

"I see they weren't too much of a threat for you, eh?" Brennan said. "Guess I'll just have to summon more." Brennan snapped his fingers again, summoning more Shade, although this time it was a horde of the fighter-like Shade.

"The Black Belts should give you more of a challenge than the Vampire Bat Shade did."

Lucien began fighting again as the Black Belts swarmed him. Satisfied with that, Brennan turned his attention back to Noah, who was still twisting and turning on the floor.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to finish you off. My master wouldn't appreciate me wasting time for no reason."

Though he was in pain, Noah could feel fear rising up within him. He was about to die and he couldn't even defend himself, which made him feel like a fool. How could he die without landing one blow against his enemy? It was almost heartbreaking.

"You're right, you are a fool, and I won't have you getting me killed because of that," came the familiar voice from Noah's head, coming through crystal clear despite the fact that Noah was still being tortured by the screaming. "I'm taking over this little battle now, and I'm gonna show you how you should be fighting."

Before Noah could really register what the voice said, something changed. Noah couldn't feel pain any longer. Actually, he couldn't feel much at all. For some reason, he couldn't feel his body, though he was aware of everything around him. When his body moved to dodge Brennan's sword, he wasn't the one who had moved it, making him wonder who did. His answer came a second later when he spoke, knowing that it wasn't really him speaking and recognizing the voice that was.

"Ah, it feels good to be in control again, even if the body isn't entirely mine."

"What the hell?" Brennan said, surprised by what he was seeing. "How are you standing? The screaming should keep you on the ground without a problem!"

"That technique may work on my weaker half, but not on me."

"What do you mean?"

"I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Noah's other half, essentially meaning that I'm still the same person who you had started fighting, and yet at the same time, I'm really not." Brennan looked confused.

"Never mind. Why don't we just continue with the fight."

Apparently unable to do anything at all, Noah could only watch as his body took advantage of Brennan's lapse in defense and struck with a swift slash of the White Keyblade. The voice that had spoke was the one Noah had heard in his head quite a few times before, though he couldn't understand how the voice was using _his _body. It didn't make any sense.

"What's the matter? Feeling left out?" said the voice, seemingly reading Noah's thoughts.

"Who the hell are you?" Noah asked, ignoring the voice's question.

"What, you don't know? I'm you, or rather half of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold that thought. Your friend here is trying to strike me down."

Noah watched as he dodged Brennan's attack and performed one of his own, of course not by his own choice. Noah struggled to take control of himself, but it was a useless action on his part. The voice was in complete control with no signs of giving up that control.

"Stop speaking in riddles! Who exactly are you?" Noah asked, desiring a straight answer.

"I already told you, I'm you!"

"No, I'm me. You're just an intruder."

"Actually, you're the intruder. This body was all mine before you came along."

Noah attempted to question that statement, but he was distracted by an attack his body performed against Brennan. He recognized it as the same energy attack that he used against Leon. The red ball of energy hit Brennan square in the chest, knocking him over and seemingly rendering him unconscious.

"Too easy. He didn't even put up a good fight," said Noah's other half. "Although I will admit that if it hadn't been for him weakening your mind, I would've never been able to take control."

Noah didn't bother to say anything regarding the comment. He was still trying to understand the last sentence his other half had said.

"What's the matter, is this all too perplexing for you? I guess I'll spell it out for you. You and I are two different parts of a single person. How this came to be is beyond me, but don't worry about it too much. Now that I'm in control, I'll find a way to make this right."

Noah didn't get a chance to ask how, as Brennan started stirring, which caught his other half's attention.

"I see you're awake again. That's good, as it means I can finish this with you able to see your demise."

Brennan ignored this and began to ready an attack of his own, involving two silvery white orbs that appeared in his palms, but he never got to finish. Noah's other half ended the fight with one single killing stroke, bringing Brennan to the ground.

"I win."

As Brennan began to fade away, he looked at Noah and laughed sheepishly.

"I guess there was a reason that I was the seventh sword of the group. Now the Seven Swords have been reduced to six," he said quietly before fully fading away into darkness.

Noah's other half let out a low laugh, but was quickly silenced by Lucien with a swift punch to the gut. He had finished off the Black Belt Shade and turned his attention to Noah.

"Sorry, but I can't have you keep control of his body any longer," Lucien said as Noah dropped to the ground.


	13. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve: The Dark Truth_

The smell of freshly baked goods was the trigger that caused Noah to stir from what felt like quite the long slumber. As he gathered himself, he noticed that he was no longer inside the mansion. In fact, he wasn't even in Twilight Town anymore, something he easily realized by looking up at the sky. It was a brilliant blue, accompanied by a slight spattering of fluffy white clouds here and there. The intense sunlight made it pretty hot, so much so that Noah was already sweating even though he had just woken up. On his right was a bakery that was producing the lovely scent of cakes and cookies that flooded the air, which was making Noah progressively hungry.

Trying to ignore his rumbling stomach, Noah wondered how he had arrived at his present location. He could remember fighting Brennan, with his other self in control, then Lucien slugging him in the chest, after which it was all a blank. The theory that made the most sense was that Lucien had brought him here, but Noah couldn't see how he could've been brought here so quickly without waking up. He picked himself up from off the ground and thought about what to do.

"Hey Noah, you want some of this? It's delicious!"

Noah looked around for the source of the voice. He found it standing in the middle of the bakery's doorway. Lucien was eating a slice of cake with one hand and holding another slice in his other hand. He held it out for Noah to take. Thanks to his growing hunger, Noah accepted the cake without question. He took it from Lucien and bit into it greedily. The undeniable taste of pecans and caramel flooded his mouth, giving his taste buds something wonderful to work with. Noah polished the cake slice off before finally saying something to Lucien.

"Where are we?"

Lucien let out a low chuckle.

"Is that really the first question that you want to ask? Wouldn't you rather find out what happened to you back at the mansion?"

"Of course I would, but I like to deal with present matters first, especially when I don't know where I am at the time."

"Understandable. We are currently standing at the top of Tranquility Hill. If you take a few steps forward, you'll be able to see the town of Light's Crossing. It's a quaint little town, with a interesting collection of people living there. It's one of my personal favorite places to go for relaxation."

Noah followed Lucien's words and moved forward a bit. He could see the small town not too far below.

"I didn't even realize we were on top of a hill," he said.

"The ground is quite flat up here. People often forget that this is a hill when they're up here."

"Well, now that I know where I am, go ahead and tell me what happened to me at the mansion."

Lucien was silent for a few moments, like he was thinking about what to say.

"I had hoped that you wouldn't need to learn this for a little while longer, but the time has finally come. What happened to you was the effect of your dark half taking over."

"My dark half?"

"Yes, that's right. Do you recall our first meeting, when I told you about the darkness consuming you? I was speaking of your dark half. It was, and still is, slowly growing stronger, and soon it will be strong enough to take over your body without you being weakened first."

"Why do I have this darkness within me?"

"....Because it's you, or rather the original you."

Noah was dumbstruck for a second. Lucien didn't make any sense. "Do you realize how stupid that sounds?"

"It only sounds that way because you don't know about your past."

"What do you know about me?"

"I know that your dark half is the original Noah. You were born because of an incident that was thought to have led to the destruction of your dark half, but that is obviously not the case."

"So...I'm evil?"

"Not quite. You are a separate being from the other Noah. It seems that he had some good within him after all, which is the reason why you came to be a full-fledged person when the other Noah was purged of darkness."

"Well, who am I then?"

"You are Noah. No matter what you are told, your dark half is nothing more than a shadow of his former self who wants to take your body for his own. He can indeed be purged from you, but you must do it on your own."

Noah went silent. It was hard to believe that he was two different people, but it would explain some things. The only problem was how long he could continue on before losing himself to the dark Noah.

"How can I purge him?" Noah asked, breaking his silence.

"You will find the answer to that on your journey. The White Keyblade will be of great assistance to you for that, and many of the other challenges you will undoubtedly face. First up, however, you could use a little rest. That's why I brought you here. Light's Crossing should prove to be a good place to get such rest."

"Don't have time to rest. I've got to get home."

"You won't make it back if you die from exhaustion. Let's head into town and get you something to eat, huh?"

Noah followed Lucien into the small town and to a little restaurant peppered with a few customers and smelling of bacon and eggs.

"What can I get you two today?" a waitress asked as Lucien and Noah sat at one of the tables.

"Just some orange juice for me," Lucien replied. "What about you, Noah?"

"How about some pancakes and eggs?"

"I'll get right on it. You guys just relax, okay?" The waitress sped away to report Noah's order to the cook. A few minutes later, she returned with the food, which there was a lot of.

"These pancakes are huge!" Noah exclaimed.

"Yep. Just another reason why I like this town."

"I'm sure it is," Noah said before digging into his food. It didn't take him long to finish, seeing as he hadn't had a proper meal for some time. When he was finished, Lucien payed the bill and the two left the restaurant and walked down the street toward a fountain in the town square.

"Noah, you wouldn't happen to have heard the name Sora at some point, have you?" Lucien asked as they stopped in front of the fountain.

"Yeah, I have. Who is he?"

"You'll be meeting him soon, I believe. I just wanted to know if you've heard his name."

"I see. So, why are we at this fountain?"

"I like this fountain. I just wanted to see it."

"Is there anything else I should know, anything important?"

"Yes there is, but it's nothing Lucien would tell you," said a familiar and unexpected voice. Noah looked behind him to see Naharl standing there, staring directly at him.

"Naharl, what are you doing here?" Lucien asked.

"I'm here to speak to Noah. I promised him I'd tell him what he wanted to know, so here I am."

"There's no need for that. I've told him everything he needs to know."

"You mean everything you want him to know. I bet you haven't told him all of the truth."

"What is he talking about?" Noah asked.

"Nothing important. Rest time is over. Time for you to get going." Lucien responded.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Lucien answered him by grabbing him and pushing him into the fountain. Noah had a split-second to brace himself for the fall into the water, but he didn't need to. Just before hitting the water, Noah was surrounded by a bright light and he seemed to fall through it. He closed his eyes to avoid being blinded, and a second later, found himself resting on solid ground. He opened his eyes and stood up. In front of him was a doorway to what looked like it could be some type of arena. On the sides of the doorway were two huge statues of gladiators, looking like they were ready for a fight. Before Noah could ask himself where he was, the doorway opened up and a silver-haired man in white armor emerged. When he saw Noah, he chuckled softly.

"Don't tell me you came to the coliseum to fight in the games? Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you'd survive too long."

"This is a coliseum?"

"What, you didn't know that?"

Noah put his hand onto his forehead, realizing that this was the worst place he could've landed in. After all, he'd had enough fighting for one day.

Up above him, out of sight, a cloaked figure looked down at the two with interest.

"Well, I didn't expect to see him here. This makes my job a whole lot easier. I hope you can provide me with some entertainment, Noah."


	14. Chapter 13

_Chapter Thirteen: A Keyblade From the Past_

"Every time I send someone up there, they fail! Is it too much to ask for me to see that pretty boy defeated for once? Well, is it?"

The fiery figure was in a rage, demanding an answer from the person with him. The other, a purple-haired girl with a scar on her cheek, looked at the blue entity as if he was getting on her nerves.

"Lord Hades, I don't think that Hercules is invincible. It's just a matter of finding his particular weakness."

"Yeah, well I have no idea what that is. I've tried everything to bring him down, and none of it's worked! It's infuriating beyond words, and I'm getting so sick and tired of hearing how great he is! I just want him dead!" Hades exploded, turning red-orange in his anger. The girl simply watched him, unfazed by this outburst. She'd already seen him do this many times, usually with more rage than he was currently exhibiting. She presumed that he was getting tired.

"My lord, perhaps you should try..." she started, but trailed off for some reason. Behind her, a door opened up and someone clad in a dark cloak walked in.

"Ah, the one called Hades. So nice to meet you."

"What do we have here?" Hades said, sounding intrigued.

"I'm the guy that's going to help you defeat Hercules," the figure said, walking past the purple-haired girl without so much as a glance. "You see, I have an idea on how to defeat him."

"Oh really? What brilliant idea do you have for me?" Hades asked.

"The way I see it, if you use someone who's already dead, you can't lose."

"Been there, done that," Hades said with a sigh. "No need to relive that experience."

The cloaked man chuckled softly.

"Perhaps you just didn't use the right guy."

"Who are you to insult Lord Hades' instincts!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed. "I'm sure he made a wise choice in who he chose to fight Hercules! The Keyblade Master just happened to interfere! By the way, exactly who the hell are you and how do you know about my lord's problem.?"

The man removed the hood of his cloak, revealing a smirking man with jet black hair.

"First of all, the name's Wolf. Second of all, it's not that hard to learn things when you keep an eye on people long enough."

"You've been spying on us?"

"No, merely scoping out my possible aids. Speaking of which, I would like to ask a favor of you, Lord Hades."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Hades asked.

"I'd like you to send a few Heartless up to greet a friend of mine. It'll make for a great surprise."

"Must not be much of a friend if you wanna sic the Heartless on him, but whatever. Now, I'm assuming you're gonna give me a reason to help you."

"Of course," Wolf said. "You see, you and I aren't so different. I too am a collector of souls, and I've got just the boy for you."

Wolf reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small crystal. He held it up in the air and watched as it glowed a bright green and a black wisp rise out of it. The wisp floated around for a moment before coming closer to the ground and suddenly materializing into a person. It was a young silver-haired kid in black jeans and a black shirt with a skull on it. A white headband completed the look.

"He's just a kid!" Hades exclaimed, entirely unimpressed.

"Yes, but he's a powerful kid. In fact, he's a Keyblade Master," Wolf said. Hades' interest returned upon hearing this.

"Actually, he's a Keyblade Master from five years ago, but that doesn't really matter, does it? He should be more than strong enough to take down Hercules."

"It's a shame it can't be Isaac," the boy said out of nowhere. "He's the only one I really want to fight."

"Yeah, well if you do a good job, perhaps I'll find him for you," Wolf said. "I might even give you your life back. That's what you want, isn't it Xerin?"

The boy named Xerin simply nodded.

"Well, with that settled, I leave it to you to start the festivities," Wolf told Hades, vanishing along with Xerin.

Hades sat in silence, apparently mulling over what to do.

"My lord, is something wrong? Did that man anger you?" the purple-haired girl asked.

"No, not at all. In fact, this might work better than I expect," Hades answered as he stood up and walked out of the chamber. The girl stared in his direction, a look of loathing upon her face.

"I hope you like surprises yourself, Hades," she said quietly. "I've got a big one just for you."

And with that, she walked out of the chamber as well, a smirk on her face.


End file.
